Dream Beaches and Bays on the Island of Vis

One reason for me to go on an island, besides the promise of solitude, is the fact it’s surrounded by water, which means lots of beaches to enjoy. So expectations were high when we did embark for the island of Vis in Croatia.

As any ‘respectable’ tourist would do, we totally didn’t research anything before choosing Vis. Some of the guys in our gang knew about Vis from TV documentaries, so we all chose to go there after our rafting adventure in Bosnia and Montenegro. I’ve already told you how you can get to the island of Vis in this post and about our boat trip to the Green Cave in Ravnik, in case you’ve missed these articles.

Now to the beaches in VIS. The host we stayed at helped us with a map of the island and indications to the most popular beaches around our location, Rukavac. We also got short travel guides from a local store nearby, and soon had an image of where was what and why we should go there.

One important thing before heading to a beach anywhere in Croatia: make sure you get a pair of water shoes. Unlike Crete island, most beaches in Vis are not sandy ones. If you think your feet can handle small hot stones and sea urchins then you can proceed without water shoes, but I’m betting most of you will need them. I found my pair to be so comfortable, that I used them as everyday shoes, except the night, when I changed into a better suited outfit for dining. The only downside: you don’t get to tan your toes, so your feet will look funny barefoot.

Before we proceed to see the beaches and bays of Vis island I feel I have to mention this article is not the ultimate list of places to see, but a list of beaches we had a chance to visit during our short four-days trip. I’m sure we’ve missed quite a few popular ones, but that’s probably a good thing, giving us a reason to come back, right?

Srebarna

This was the easiest to reach from where we stayed. Srebarna is located just a few hundred meters from Rukavac. There’s a parking spot just before the forest that leads to Srebarna. It’s a steep down walk that you feel at the end of the day, when you’re probably already tired.

Trees show the way to the beach

Beautiful Adriatic sea

Amazing landscape

Green blue water

The rock bed

Under the shade

The beach itself is made of egg sized white rocks on its south end and a rock bed in the north. There aren’t many places to cover from the sun and lay down a towel if you arrive late, so make sure you get a headstart in the morning. A small bar serves beverages, so if you run out of water or coffee there’s this option.

One more thing to keep in mind: as you enter the water, it gets deep pretty fast.

Stivina Bay

What’s special about this location is not the beach itself, but the fact it’s a very small bay guarded by two massive cliffs. We went there right after visiting Green Cave in Ravnik. The boat stopped at a safe distance from Stivina Bay and we had to swim a few minutes to get there. There’s also a footpath you can follow from Rukavac, but it will take you at least 30 minutes. If you can get there by boat, don’t hesitate.

Cliffs guarding the water entrance

Nice to have been there

In case you do get there on foot there’s a short terrace where you can relax and enjoy a cold beer. Or if you’re the adventurous type you can climb on one of the cliffs to test your skills.

Milna

If you want easy access by car this is probably one of the best beaches in Vis: it’s located right near the main road. You may have problems finding a parking spot, but once you do you’ll be in the water in less than 30 seconds. To us it didn’t look particularly inspiring, so we went further to our next stop.

Milna bay from top

Main road guarding Milna beach

Zaglav

You won’t be able to avoid walking to Zaglav. Go to Milna, at the end of the beach, and follow the footpath which takes you to Zaglav. It’s a 10 minute hike, but you’ll get to admire the blue Adriatic sea along the way. Zaglav is one of the few sandy beaches in Vis. The downside? You have almost zero shadow during the day, so you may want to bring a couple umbrellas with you.

Zaglav beach panorama

As with most places in Vis, there’s a place here too where you can drink something, if you didn’t pack your own, or in case you don’t like warm beverages. We found a compromise solution, which involved chilling the beer cans directly in the water. It worked!

Stoncica Bay

This is probably the beach we liked most, so we went there on two occasions. It’s away from the main road, but you can park your car pretty close to Stoncica beach. As you descend towards the beach you’re greeted by a paradise picture of the bay, surrounded by vegetation. There are also quite a few boats anchored inside the bay, a sign that Stoncica Bay is a popular destination. But don’t worry, it’s not to the point where it becomes crowded.

The beach features a narrow part, guarded by tall vegetation and a wider area, where you can also play beach volley with your friends. The water is only waist deep even after 30-40 meters, so safe for kids and those who don’t feel confident with their swimming skills.

Stoncica Bay overview

Beach volley field

Stoncica beach paradise

We liked the local restaurant because it served grilled specialities and cold local draft beer, of course. It was also a tiny bit less expensive than the establishments in the port of Vis. They used a neat trick to allure us: their grill was smoking on purpose to make you hungry. It worked big time with me!

After a few drinks all we could do was rest like seals on the rock bed, with our legs in the water. It’s exhausting doing nothing and drinking beer, I can tell you that…

So there you have it, our list of beaches where we’ve had the pleasure to be sunbathed by the Croatian sun. Let us know if you’ve visited them, or if you know other important ones we missed during our stay on the island of Vis. And as always, check back to Travelue if you like our stories!